SSACO Challenges Makinde, Adekanmbi to Address Oyo’s LG Paralysis, Health Crisis, 674,000 Out-of-School Children

The Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation (SSACO) has fired back at Governor Seyi Makinde and his protégé in the Allied Peoples’ Movement, Hon. Bimbo Adekanmbi, over their claim that Senator Sharafadeen Alli copied the policies of the Makinde government in his manifesto with the acronym “Oyo AHEAD”, describing the allegation as a lie peddled by men who are dodging questions on key governance issues.

The manifesto, which has become a source of headache for Hon. Adekanmbi and Governor Makinde, offers practical solutions to problems in key sectors such as education, health, agriculture, grassroots development and youth development.

A statement by Bisi Oladele, the Director of Media and Publicity, Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation (SSACO), reminded Adekanmbi and Makinde that Alli is not a neophyte in public service, but a well groomed public sector expert with rich experience across sectors.

“Alli is not a newcomer learning governance from press releases. He was a Council Chairman, Secretary to the State Government, Chief of Staff and is now a serving Senator. That experience from the ward to the Senate is what positions him as the best for Oyo State. You cannot copy what you have lived.” The statement said.

SSACO said Makinde and Adekanmbi have deliberately refused to address the real concerns raised in the manifesto: local government paralysis, under-staffed PHCs and state hospitals, poorly funded schools and out-of-school children.

“Since 2019, Oyo’s 33 local governments have received about ₦873 billion from FAAC, yet not one council budget is published online. Alli’s answer is an Executive Order on Day One to guarantee local government autonomy, payment for councils on a fixed date and remittance of the 10 per cent of state revenue due to them monthly to enable governance to percolate to the grassroots.” The statement added.

On health, SSACO said the copying claim collapses on its own facts: six councils have no general hospital at all, six general hospitals had no doctor at all as at last October, and 10 hospitals had only one, while PHCs have about three workers each against a national standard of 24.

Alli’s response is not a copied slogan but a system. The Oyo Care guarantees free healthcare for every infant, every pregnant woman and every resident of over 70 years old and above. The manifesto shows the plan for continuous recruitment of health workers, provision of hospital facilities and work tools, medicines on the shelf, solar power for every rural maternity and a public dashboard in every ward.” The SSACO said.

On education, Alli cited the state’s own school census: a public primary classroom holds about 100 pupils, about 674,000 children between age three and age 17 are out of school being the highest in the South-West and seven in 10 children aged 7 to 14 cannot do basic sums. Oyo AHEAD promises to bring classes back to 30 pupils, repair schools in all 33 local governments, create a scholarship for the gifted poor child, pass an Apprenticeship Law and return School Governing Boards to parents and communities, alongside an agric revolution, a ₦10 billion Youth Fund, homes for low and middle-income earners, and a 20-year warranty on every new road.

“They claim Oyo is the most liveable state but cannot produce the report, the publisher, or the methodology. They claim Alli copied one-PHC-per-ward, yet our PHCs have three workers instead of 24. That is not implementation. That is abandonment.
“Adekanmbi is not change. He is continuity of failure, continuity of centralisation, continuity of government-as-business. Oyo AHEAD is a correction. It is a covenant. And we will continue to highlight the issues that matter to the well-being of the people Oyo State.” The statement concluded.